It is well known in the art that in many instances it may be desirable to load a semi-trailer, normally intended for road transport, on a railway wagon and to transport it in a train on a railway so as to provide a more efficient and environmentally tolerable transportation.
The loading and unloading of a semi-trailer on and off a railway wagon, built for this purpose, requires in its simplest form extensive equipment, such as cranes and/or heavy lift trucks, at specialized terminals. Also, the investments in and around such terminals of roads and handling areas are burdensome.
A more favourable solution may be to allow for the possibility to pivot out a loading area for the semi-trailer from the remainder of the wagon, so that the semi-trailer can be rolled onto this loading area, which is then pivoted back in line with the wagon for rail transport.
A typical example of this technique, falling within the definition under the heading Technical Field above, is shown in DE-A-32 34 374. The loading area is here pivoted out from the wagon on rolls or the like on a special ground plate. The investments in the infrastructure are still high.
Another example of the same general nature is shown in EP-A-0 869 891 and EP-A-1 805 072. This wagon suffers from the disadvantages with the infrastructure demands and is furthermore heavy, complicated and expensive.
A relatively early attempt to provide a railway wagon—not falling within the definition above—with a pivotable platform for a semi-trailer or a container is shown in GB-B-901 275. The pivotable movement of the platform is guided by beams on the wagon, and the beams may be pivoted out from the wagon. The platform, supported by support legs, has ramps for the rolling on and off of a semi-trailer.
The main purpose of the invention is to provide a railway wagon of the kind defined above, which does not show the drawbacks described above. Especially, it shall be possible to load and unload a semi-trailer at any desired location without the provision of any special infrastructure in the form of special plates, surfaces or the like.